Internally displaced person (IDP)
Short answer
An internally displaced person has been forced to flee their home by conflict, violence, disaster or human rights violations, but has not crossed an international border. They remain inside their own country and stay under the legal protection of their own government.
The wording it comes from
Persons or groups of persons who have been forced or obliged to flee or to leave their homes or places of habitual residence, in particular as a result of or in order to avoid the effects of armed conflict, situations of generalized violence, violations of human rights or natural or human made disasters, and who have not crossed an internationally recognized State border.
UN Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement, introduction, paragraph 2
In plain terms
- The defining test is the border. Someone who flees and stays inside their country is internally displaced, no matter how far they travel.
- The definition is descriptive rather than a legal status that has to be granted. Nobody applies to become an internally displaced person.
- Because there is no application, counting relies on movement tracking and assessment rather than on registration records.
Commonly confused with
Refugee
A refugee has crossed an international border and holds a protection status under international law. An internally displaced person has not crossed a border and remains the responsibility of their own state.
Migrant
Migration describes movement generally, including movement by choice. Internal displacement is forced movement.
Why the distinction matters
- Internally displaced people are usually the largest displaced group in any crisis, and they are counted separately from refugees.
- Because their own government holds primary responsibility, access for humanitarian organisations often depends on that government.
- The absence of individual registration is the main reason internal displacement figures carry wider uncertainty than refugee figures.